The Prophet Isaiah and the Pre-Refutation of Mormon Polytheism

"Before Me no god was formed,
   Nor shall there be any after Me."

The phrase quoted here is the last couplet of Isaiah 43:10. This profession of monotheism is a repeated theme in this section of the book of Isaiah (chapters 40-48). In 40:18, the prophet asks, "To whom then will you liken God?" And God Himself repeats the question in verse 25: "To whom then will you compare Me, that I should be like him, says the Holy One." And again in 41:4: "I, the Lord, the first, and with the last I am He." In 42:8, He says, "I am the Lord; that is My name; My glory I give to no other." In 43:10, He repeats the declaration quoted above: "Before Me no god was formed, nor shall there be after Me." But then He continues in verse 11, "I, I am the Lord, and besides Me there is no

savior." In 44:6, we find, "I am the first and I am the last; besides Me there is no god." And verse 8, "Is there a God besides Me? There is no Rock; I know not any." In verse 24, he proclaims, "I am the Lord, who made all things, Who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by Myself." In 45:5, He tells us, "I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides Me there is no god." In verse 21, "There is no other god besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides Me." In 46:9, "I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me." And finally, in 48:12, "I am He; I am the first, and I am the last."

Why have I made such an extensive list? Because Mormons claim that there are many gods; Jehovah, they say, is god only here on earth, in reward from the god of his home world. They often try to wriggle out of the idolatry label. However, here is the evidence from the mouths of their own past leaders. To my mind, this feature alone makes them pagans, regardless of their claim to be "the Church of Jesus Christ" or protestations of commonality with Christians. Of course, while a sufficient justification, their polytheism is not the only reason that I insist that Mormonism is an anti-Christian cult.

Why do I consider these quotes from Isaiah so important? Well, look at what else God claims through that prophet. In Isaiah 43:25, God also says, "I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins." And in 45:22, "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other." In other words, Jehovah, the solitary God of the Bible, reserves to Himself the power to save all those who confess Him alone. Whoever makes up a god of his own imagination, as the Mormons have done, is lost, forever judged for his sins. I want Mormons to come to recognize that they follow a false god so that they can repent, and return to the true and living God of the Bible.

As a side note, I also want to point out to the followers of the Watchtower that they, too, follow a false god. Twice, in the passages I quoted above (Isaiah 44:6 and 48:12), God, Jehovah, refers to Himself as "the first and the last." Jesus applies those same words to Himself three times, in Revelation 1:17, 2:8, and 22:13. Jesus my Redeemer is the incarnation of that Jehovah  who proclaims Himself to be God alone in the prophecies of Isaiah. My prayer for you, too, is that God will open your eyes to the superstitions of the Watchtower Society, and lead you to the true Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, that you may be saved. In order to truly witness for Jehovah, you must confess that He is incarnate in Jesus Christ!